Executive Leadership
Becky Ellis, Chief Executive Officer
Becky is an accomplished senior executive with over twenty years of experience in the financial services industry. She has extensive senior level experience in retail banking, lending, operations, and wealth management with a proven track record of spearheading change that delivers significant long-term value. Before coming to work with Sandhills Credit Union, her role was as Director, Member Experience with a mid-sized credit union primarily in Southwestern Ontario. She also held the VP, Operations role for Crime Stoppers, London Elgin and Middlesex. Becky is highly respected for her unwavering focus on members’ needs and for collaborating with community and stakeholders.
Becky is dedicated to ensuring that we remain true to Sandhill’s values while honouring the culture that has been built over many years. “Banking is a people business, and strong commitment to members, employees, and community will continue to be our focus.”
Nicole Stimson, Chief Operating Officer
nicole.stimson@sandhillscu.com
Nicole has over 15 years’ experience with the Credit Union. Nicole started as a Member Service Representative and was promoted to lead the Member Service team. Nicole continued to grow into more senior roles within Sandhills as the Operations Manager, and most recently Chief Operating Officer. Nicole is accredited in Member Service, Member Service Supervision and Human Resource Management through The Credit Union Institute of Canada. Nicole also obtained her Investment Funds In Canada certification. As a community minded and family oriented person, Nicole leads with enthusiasm and empathy, keeping her team, the members and the Leader Community as her top priorities.
Lending Team
Pam Ristau, Manager of Lending
Pam has over 40 years of experience with in-depth knowledge and expertise in commercial and agricultural lending. Pam has earned strong and loyal relationships with her members by providing sound and trusted financial advice for many years. As Manager of Lending, Pam is the senior lender in the branch and as a natural and engaged mentor, Pam leads the lending team with enthusiasm, a strategic mindset and with the Sandhills Credit Union’s core values at the forefront. When asked about Pam, her members have said “Pam understands my business and truly cares about my financial wellbeing.”
Jessica Feiffer, Loans Officer
jessica.feiffer@sandhillscu.com
Jessica has 15 years experience with Sandhills Credit Union, specializing in lending for the last 6 of those years. Jessica is a Lethbridge College Graduate with a diploma in Business Management. She is certified in Residential and Consumer Lending and has obtained level 1 of Agriculture Financial Analysis certification. Jessica has accreditation in lending law, loan collections, credit unions by design and vulnerable members. When asked about what she loves about her role Jessica said, “I love being able to help our members, bring a smile to their face, and help them achieve their financial goals”.
Bobbi Sitter, Loans Officer
Bobbi has 13 years experience with Sandhills Credit Union, specializing in a variety of roles that include member service, lending administration, audit, and compliance. For the last year Bobbi’s primary focus has been lending. She is certified in Residential and Consumer Lending and has obtained level 1 of Agriculture Financial Analysis. Bobbi has accreditation in Lending Security and The Law, Protecting the Vulnerable, and Account Opening and Related Compliance. When asked about what she loves about her role Bobbi said,“I love helping members achieve their goals by coming up with solutions that make sense for them”.
Miranda Hanna, Lending Services Clerk
Miranda has 16 years financial experience holding a variation of roles including Member Service Rep, Account Manager and Lending Services Clerk. Miranda has continued her education in the financial services industry by completing courses with Dalhousie University and the Canadian Credit Union Association. Community values are important to Miranda and she dedicates a lot of her own time volunteering and contributing to the Leader community.
Member Services
Cora Walker, Member Service Supervisor
Cora has been with Sandhills Credit Union for over 20 years, starting as a Member Service Representative and now she leads the Member Service team as the Member Service Supervisor. Cora has accreditations in Member Services, Deposits Services, Fraud Prevention and Cyber Security. Cora leads her team with enthusiasm, compassion, and positivity and is a respected leader amongst her team. Cora and her family are long time members of the Leader Community and Cora is a strong community contributor and advocate, participating in many community boards and organizations over the years. Cora is an avid reader and loves spending time at her family cottage. In her spare time Cora enjoys family time with her husband of over 30 years and 2 grown children, as well as baking, live music, and playing board games and cards.
Cynthia Smith, Member Service Representative
Cynthia has been with Sandhills Credit Union since 2017 as a Member Service Representative. Cynthia is very knowledgeable in financial services and provides our members with an excellent member experience in every interaction. Cynthia also lends her expertise to other service areas and operations of the branch and is a true team player. Cynthia also leads the Fat Cat program for our young members. Prior to her work with Sandhills Credit Union Cynthia spent 17 years working with Canada Revenue Agency. Cynthia is known for spreading positivity and well-being amongst the team with a kind and generous heart. Cynthia enjoys spending time with her husband, kids, and grandkids.
Cari Wilkinson, Temporary Lending Clerk and Member Service Representative
Cari has been with Sandhills Credit Union for almost 4 years as a Member Service Representative and was recently promoted to our temporary Lending Clerk covering a maternity leave. Before joining Sandhills Cari held many roles with CIBC and has a great deal of experience in financial services. Cari is seen as a leader amongst her team and is a strong team player with a collaborative mindset. Cari was born and raised in Leader, living in Medicine Hat for a short time before returning to raise her kids in her hometown with close family. In Cari’s spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, listening and dancing to 80s music. As a die-hard Elvis fan, Cari is proud to say she has visited Graceland which was a lifelong dream of hers.
Penny Sheldon, Member Service Representative
Penny has been with Sandhills Credit Union for almost 4 years as a Member Service Representative. Penny also worked in the financial services industry with CIBC prior to coming to work in the Credit Union system with Sandhills. Penny brings absolute joy to our members and team with her incredible positive outlook and infectious laughter. She and her family are long time members of the Leader community, moving to Leader 20 years ago. As a wife, Mom and Grandma Penny doesn’t have a lot of free time, but when she does, she likes to spend it planting flowers, camping, painting, doing cross stitch and being outside with her fur-baby.
Colleen Siewert, Member Service Representative
Colleen is the newest member of our Member Service team. She has been with Sandhills Credit Union since 2021 as a Member Service Representative. Colleen has been an excellent addition to the Sandhills team bringing a fantastic energy and an infectious enthusiasm. Providing an excellent member experience is only one of Colleen’s talents. She is also a skilled baker and perogy maker. In her spare time Colleen enjoys spending time with her family, camping, listening to music and watching her favorite TV shows.
Admin/Compliance
Rebecca Eastwood, Administration and Compliance Officer
Rebecca has been with Sandhills Credit Union since 2015 as an Administration and Compliance Officer. Most of Becca’s work is behind the scenes so even though you may not see her, she is working hard to support our members and team on very important work. Becca was born and raised in Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Waterloo. Becca moved to Leader in 2013 and has a strong community mindset and is an active member of the Leader Housing Authority Board. Becca is seen as a leader in the branch and an expert in all things audit, compliance and regulatory related. In her spare time Becca enjoys spending time with her husband and 4-year-old son. Along with a passion for owls, cooking, board games, hunting, fishing, and rock collecting are some of Becca’s favorite past-times.
